Portrait of Serhiy Nigoyan at the Heavenly Hundred Garden, Kiev

Portrait in Kiev, Ukraine, depicting Serhiy Nigoyan (1993-2014), the first Euromaidan activist to have died during the Hrushevskoho Street Riots on 22 January 2014. A second-generation Armenian-Ukrainian, Serhiy represents the multicultural dimension of the protests, clearly contradicting the version disseminated in the mainstream media that only fascists were involved. The protests were supported by a majority of the population demanding an end to the corrupt political elite ruling the country. The piece is located at Heavenly Hundred Garden, a community project developed by volunteers in a former derelict site in central Kiev with no official support. This is the only way I could contribute, by paying my respects to those who lost their lives in the name of freedom to choose their own future. The eyes of Serhiy are the eyes of all the Heavenly Hundred.

A very special thank you to Oleg, Zhenya, Oksana, Dima, and the Embassy of Portugal in Ukraine. Thanks also to my team, Alcatrão, Paulo, and André.